Possession
by darkestboy
Summary: When the Doctor, Amy and Rory follow a mysterious distress call, they find themselves at the mercy of an old enemy. Set between The Vampires Of Venice and Amy's Choice.


**Name: **Possession  
**Characters:** 11th Doctor, Amy Pond, Rory Williams, Celestial Toymaker  
**Synopsis: **When the Doctor, Amy and Rory follow a mysterious distress call, they find themselves at the mercy of an old enemy. Set between _The_ _Vampires Of Venice_ and _Amy's Choice_.

The young woman had been sleeping for hours but she was in the safest of hands. The older man who had been kindly watching over her would ensure that not the slightest harm would come to her head.

Some would say that the elderly man was a saviour to this young woman, others however would assume the opposite. Either way, it because of this man that the fiery haired woman had survived being killed by some living dolls. For the man, the young woman's death would've been an unfortunate accident. A dead prize would've been of no use to him at all.

The woman rose from her slumber and took in her surroundings, the first thing that she noticed was that she was alone. The second thing she noticed, was that her new home was little more than an oversized dollhouse, the walls covered with blazing pink wallpaper and everything a little too plastic to be real. Even the bed she had slept on was made of the hardest plastic she could think of.

Fortunately for the girl, she was relieved that her own clothing had been intact on her body and found that she wasn't physically restrained to the bed. But Amy Pond knew that something wasn't right and immediately stepped out of the bed and looked around the house.

She checked everywhere in the tiny house. Given that there was no upstairs, Amy grimly thought of this oversized dollhouse to be a cottage of some kind. When she tried to open the front door, it refused to budge. Amy's next instinct was to try the windows but she couldn't get them to open.

"Right then," Amy muttered before picking up a chair and hurling it at the window. The chair shattered in half but the window itself remained intact, unaffected by the contact it had with the chair. "What the hell?"

Amy was beginning to lose her patience and went to kick at the door. The more she kicked at it, the less effect it seemed to have. When that didn't work, Amy looked up towards the roof and screamed.

"I don't know who you are," she lost her temper. "But you are not keeping me here. I'm going to get out. I'm going to find my friends and you can't stop me. Do you hear me? Whoever you are, it's going to take a lot more than this to hold me back."

Rubbing her hands through her hair, Amy looked around in frustration. Apart from the fact that she was trapped in a room with no-one even to taunt her about her imprisonment, she had also come to the startling realisation of forgetting what had made her seperate from the Doctor and Rory.

Rory woke up with something of a grunt. The last thing he remembered was falling through glass but as soon as he rose to his feet and looked at the floor, he was astonished to find that none had been there. The bruises and cuts that he should've sustained were also gone. But that was the least of his worries.

"Amy?" Rory called out, looking around to find himself mostly surrounded by darkness and the faintest traces of light. "Doctor? Anyone?"

Nothing but a part of Rory had expected something around the lines of that. What had happened? Where were they? Why couldn't he remember?

These were the questions that had been running through Rory's head and he couldn't come close to answering any of them. He could vaguely remember the Doctor saying not to wander off and Amy retorting about trouble not being too fussy in finding either of them but that was just about it. Then suddenly he saw something move in the shadows. A child? Rory moved a bit closer to the dimming light of his whereabouts to get a better look.

"Hello?" Rory looked closer. It was definitely a child. A little girl, no more than seven or eight years old. It looked she had been weeping. "Are you alright?"

"I'm not supposed to talk to strangers," the child eyed Rory with suspicion and wonder. "Who are you?"

"I'm Rory, you can trust me" Rory extended a hand for the child to shake. The young girl folded her arms and Rory withdrew the offer. "It's kind of embarrassing but I think I'm as lost as you are. My friends and I got seperated -,"

"The physician and the female?" the girl cocked her head.

"That's a new one," Rory admitted. "But I suppose he's sort of like a physician, yeah. How did you know?"

"I was sent for you, Rory Williams," the girl said simply. "To make sure you survived the plummet. You're rather durable for a human."

"I work out." It was Rory's turn to eye the young girl suspiciously. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

The girl laughed and threw her head back for a brief second. Rory could see that her eyes were glowing silver and on closer inspection her skin was tainted in a dark red texture. Instead of eyebrows, there was a yellow strip in their placement. She looked at Rory with a cold glint.

"It's been a while since I've enjoyed a good hunt," the girl leapt for Rory and pinned him to the floor. "I'm not supposed to kill you but one bite won't hurt."

"Yes, it will," Rory gruffly protested and kicked the girl off him. Getting to his feet, Rory ran into the darkness, aware that the alien child was chasing him. Apart from the obvious hope of outrunning the alien that was delighting in chasing him, he hoped that both the Doctor and Amy were faring better than he was at the minute.

The Doctor swung from his chains in the manky dungeon that he had been locked in. His hands were bound above his head, so he was in no position of reaching for his sonic screwdriver to get out of this one anytime soon. Even he was having a hard time remembering and then it hit him.

_They were in the TARDIS, thinking about their last adventure together. Venice had been brilliant and those creatures were certainly an unforgettable force but it wasn't that that either of them had found memorable. It was the company of each other — the Doctor, Amy and Rory, the best of friends. Sitting around and laughing. The Doctor had found himself entertained by some of Amy and Rory's past antics and he hadn't been shy in revealing a few of his former hi-jinks as well._

"Does it always do that?"Rory had changed the mood by taking a look at the monitor. He had been the first one to notice it.

"Shouldn't do," the Doctor went over and saw for himself. Red alert. "It's a distress call."

"Where's it coming from?" Amy took a look over Rory's shoulder.

"I don't know," the Doctor admitted, fiddling around with controls. "Nothing's showing up on the monitor. I can't seem to get a physical location."

"Maybe it's a hoax," Rory offered. "Or this thing needs some fine tuning."

"My TARDIS works perfectly well, thank you very much," the Doctor said a little miffed. "I only fixed her up recently."

Before Rory could make a comeback of his own, Amy had raised some concerns about the lights flashing. After that the TARDIS had blacked out and they had landed here. The Doctor remembered them all stepping out and telling both Amy and Rory not to wander off. After that, everything else had become a bit blurred. He didn't even remember being captured.

The Toymaker had sat by his controls and smiled to himself. The young woman was trapped in the house while the young man was running for his life at the mercy of a ravenous alien child but he would not die. They were prizes and prizes did not deserve death, otherwise their function would be null and void.

The biggest prize was in a dungeon for the time being. The Toymaker was undecided as to what he would do with the young man held prisoner but he would think of something. This man had destroyed his world and would pay dearly for that and with his companions also bound to this world, the Toymaker resigned to himself that he would have to use them in order to get the Doctor's agreement. This was something that did not pain him in the slightest but he had more than a feeling that it would be a great distress for the Doctor.

"I'm hungry," roared the alien child to her prey. She could still smell the human male, though she had managed to lose him. He was smarter than she had given him credit for.

She cocked her head in the air and took another whiff of the air. It wasn't like the young man had many places in which he could hide but if she failed to keep him away from the Time Lord and the woman, the Toymaker would never release her. A hundred years and she was still bound to that insufferable being. This was the only chance she had for freedom and she wasn't going to fail.

"Ready or not," the girl hissed as she picked up where he had headed for. "I'm coming for you."

And so she ran, determined to find the young man.

The Doctor was lucky that in spite of his unfortunate predicament that he at least wasn't suspended in the air. Maybe the Toymaker had gone soft.

Not likely, the Doctor thought bitterly. He tugged on the chains a little harder and found that they were starting to loosen a little.

"Isn't that interesting?" the Doctor muttered cautiously as he strained against his restraints. "Has to be a trick."

The Toymaker liked his games and the Doctor grimly realised that as soon as he got out of his bonds, he'd be propelled into another trap. At the same time he couldn't simply hang about and continued to pull against the chains until he ripped them from the ceiling and crumbled to the ground with his restraints.

"That's better," the Doctor got to his feet immediately, dusting himself off before taking out his sonic screwdriver to undo the manacles on his wrists. He watched as they fell to the floor.

"Impressive," a voice called from the shadows. The Doctor could see the faint sight of a foot looming towards him.

"I was wondering when you'd show yourself," the Doctor muttered bitterly. "Where are my friends?"

"Not so much as a simple 'hello' then?" the Toymaker feigned hurt as he took full physical form and looked at the Doctor disapprovingly. "This must be a sullen regeneration for you, Time Lord."

"Maybe I'm not happy with being pulled out of time and space," the Doctor put his arms behind his back and walked around the Toymaker, circling him. "You haven't changed. Still finding ways to tamper with the free will of others."

"I like to think I'm very accommodating with giving others a choice, Doctor," the Toymaker snorted. "After all, I could've made your bonds unbreakable but gave you the chance to release yourself from them by using your own strength."

"Do I pass then?" the Doctor snapped.

"Don't be so flippant," the Toymaker snapped back. "That wasn't a test. I would never make things that easy for you."

"What about Amy and Rory?" the Doctor went to grab for the Toymaker but he pulled away from the other man's grasp and pushed him to the floor. "Where are they?"

"It's funny, Doctor," the Toymaker chuckled, "because their test to is to find each other and you. They've had a far more difficult task ahead of them."

"Let them go," the Doctor rose to his feet. "I'll not have you subject them to your cruel games. They are not your playthings and neither am I."

"Too late," the Toymaker frowned before looking at the younger man with so much fire and ice in his eyes. "I'd worry about yourself Doctor because your life depends on how clever they are."

The Doctor could only watch as the Toymaker took his leave of the cell. Looking around to see that he was alone, the Doctor went towards the door and tried the sonic screwdriver on the lock. He was surprised when the lock bust and the door flung open. It had to be a trap but he was useless to his friends if he stayed inside. He was going to have to take a chance to get to them.

Rory had realised that the best way of buying himself some time was to throw an item of his clothing in a direction where the alien child would inevitably go to look. He had chosen the puffy blue sleeveless jacket as the clothing item of choice and hoped for the best.

He had found himself drawn by the first light he had seen since running into the darkness and instinctively went towards it. When he entered the room, he found himself more than a little alarmed with what he was looking at.

"You have got to be joking," Rory gaped at the sight he had stumbled into. "I can't believe I'm seeing this."

A row of toy soldiers were lined against a wall and Rory wondered if he had been better off staying in the darkness. While the soldiers weren't exactly moving, Rory had no reason not to keep his eyes off them as he slowly felt around the room, looking for anything that could work as a weapon. The Doctor might harbour reservations with violence but Rory had no intention of being killed by anything that was in the room, including the soldiers.

"It's like a child's bedroom," Rory looked around, picking up what looked like a toy spade that had been in a bucket. The spade was the size of a regular one, though Rory noticed that everything was either near to his height or taller and wider in so many ways. Then he heard something banging furiously.

"Hello?" a muffled whimper called out. "Can someone help me? Is there anyone there?"

"Who's that?" Rory called out with trepidation, holding onto the spade tightly. He was prepared for any unpleasant surprises.

"Doctor?"

The whimpered voice sounded familiar. It couldn't be, could it?

"Who's there?" the voice came again. "Please help me."

Rory looked around to see where the banging had been coming from and could see a toy box pounding away. He slowly walked towards it, keeping his grip on the spade.

"Help me," and this time Rory recognised the voice.

"Amy?" Rory's voice got higher with anticipation.

"Rory?" the voice seemed to recognise him now. "Get me out of here."

Rory looked at the toy box and saw that a big padlock was keeping it tightly secured. With no keys likely to be left around, Rory eyed the toy soldiers one more time before using the spade to smash open the lock.

"It's okay, I've got you," Rory said as he discarded with the broken padlock and opened the chest, only to find no-one in it. "Amy?"

Rory turned around and saw that the alien child was standing there with a huge grin on her face; arms folded as she blocked the doorway that Rory had entered the room.

"Looking for someone?" the girl spoke, using Amy's intonation perfectly, startling Rory. "What's the matter? Not who you were expecting?"

"Where is she?" Rory held on to his spade tightly as he stared at the alien child in contempt. "You don't scare me."

"I should Rory," the girl hissed. "For all you know, I've eaten both Amy and the Doctor. I've always love the taste of humans."

"I don't think you have," Rory looked around, trying to find a way out and for a fleeting second, he thought he saw one of the toy soldiers move. "You seem like the kind of alien that would catch us all before devouring any of us."

"You think so?"

"You don't exactly seem quick on your feet," Rory eyed the creature with irritation. "I was able to give you the slip. I bet they did too."

"Your faith in your friends is gravely misplaced," the alien creature mused. "Even if I hadn't devoured them, they'd still be no help for you."

"I can take care of myself," Rory said simply, indicating the spade he was holding onto.

"You know, I don't even think they're actually missing you at all," the creature looked at Rory. "They've probably forgotten all about you."

"I don't believe you."

"Yes, you do," the creature smiled. "The man who took you both away from your homes and he leaves you to die on this unknown world. You're not the first, if that's any consolation."

"You're lying," Rory said. "Even if I didn't like the Doctor, he wouldn't do that and neither would Amy. If you're trying to destroy my faith in them, then you're failing miserably."

"I gave it my best effort," the girl smiled. "He already has your two friends. I doubt he's really going to miss you but to be safe, I'll make it look like a terrible accident."

"Who's he?"

The creature jumped in the air and Rory noticed that her teeth glistened as they sharpened along with her nails but she never made it towards him as the toy soldiers behind Rory activated and blasted the creature into dust. Rory had cowered but risen when an elderly man stepped into the room and the toy soldiers had retreated to their station in the corner.

"Congratulations," the man smiled as he touched Rory's shoulder. "You passed the first test."

"What?" Rory looked at him. "Who are you? Where are they?"

"Your new best friend," the Toymaker smiled as he touched Rory's forehead and sent him away, clutching the spade the human male had and tossing it aside. "Let's see how she gets on."

Amy had a bad feeling come over her as she kept trashing against the doors of the imprisoned cottage. Then a familiar figure appeared inside and Amy eyed the man with trepidation.

"Doctor."

"Amy," the young man smiled at her, a smile that told Amy that he wasn't to be trusted as he began to advance towards her with a mad glint in his left eye.

Rory woke up on the floor in an abandoned room. Rising to his feet, he looked around the place and found that he was alone.

"He sent me here," Rory muttered to himself, before rushing to the door and trying to open it with no success. "Let me out."

"All in good time," an airless whisper called out, making Rory shudder.

He hoped that Amy and the Doctor were having a better time of it before he tried to use brute force in order to break down the steel door keeping him locked in the empty room.

"Where the hell have you been?" Amy gave the Doctor a dubious look before realising. "Where's Rory?"

"He's safe." Amy noticed that the Doctor was grinning, more than usual. He had a thing for danger but there was a time and place for excitable glee and this wasn't it. His next words caught her off guard. "Don't you trust me?"

"Of course I do," Amy gave him another dubious look. "Are you alright?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" the Doctor looked at her confused with the same dopey grin on his face. "I've been in worse scraps than this."

"So have I," Amy looked around. Out of curiosity, she looked behind him to see if there had been some kind of entrance he had used and when there wasn't, she looked at him again. "How did you get in?"

"Teleportation device," the Doctor smiled, showing her a black circular object with silver swirls and orange buttons. "It seems our mystery friend wants us alive for some reason."

"And he left it for you to find?" Amy cocked an eyebrow, taking the device and looking at it with wonder. It was surprisingly light in her hands as well.

"I sort of liberated it," the Doctor took the device from her hands. "His guards weren't best pleased. I don't think they liked being order not to shoot me."

"Don't knock it," Amy scoffed. "So, who exactly is our mystery friend?"

"That's what I'm hoping you can help me with. I didn't get a good look at him to be honest," the Doctor kept smiling as he extended his hand for her hand. "Shall we?"

"What about Rory?" Amy nervously took his hand. She was worried for him as well as the Doctor. There was also something about the Doctor that wasn't filling her with a usual sense of security that his presence often did.

"He's in the TARDIS," the Doctor dismissed her concerns. "Safest place for him. If anything goes wrong, he's our Plan B."

_Plan B? Did he just call Rory Plan B? Something definitely is amiss here. If he's not himself, then I'm danger and if he is himself, then there's going to be some strong words that will be had out_.

"Okay," Amy said with reluctance in her voice that the Doctor didn't take any heed to. "Let's get out of here. I'm not much for being homebound anyways."

"As you wish," the Doctor smiled, pressing the teleportation device, whisking the both of them away.

"Excellent," the Toymaker smiled from his controls. "She actually fell for it. So much for your friend Amy knowing you so well, huh Doctor?"

The Toymaker glanced over to a chair where the younger Time Lord had been forcibly bound to. A strip of black tape across his mouth had silenced him when he had tried to call out to Amy from the monitor. The Doctor glared at the Toymaker, his eyes promising repercussions if anything bad happened to either Amy or Rory. Behind him, a toy soldier pointed a rifle at him in case he got any ideas to try and free himself.

What felt like a minute had been less than half of it but Amy and the Doctor had both crashed to the ground in a crumpled heap. They were in another room. The floor seemed to have a hopscotch drawn on the ground. Amy was on top of the Time Lord and looked in his eyes. He eyed her with suspicion.

"Something the matter?" the Doctor looked her at her, trying to work out what she was thinking exactly.

"No, nothing," Amy got off the Doctor and pulled him up, examining him. "Remarkable."

"What's that?"

"No scratches," Amy said as she pointed at the both of them. "And we've both been bruised with safer TARDIS landings."

"Maybe we just got lucky," the Doctor said. "Now if we're really lucky we'll actually figure out where we are."

"And who's got us?" Amy offered, though she had worded it like a question instead of a statement. "I'm curious to find out why we're in a room that has a hopscotch on the floor."

"A what?"

"Look," Amy pointed at the ground. As she was about to place her foot on one of the numbers, something stopped her. She pulled back. Something wasn't right with this scenario.

"Why'd you stop?" the Doctor asked her, sounding annoyed. "Amy, it's just a child's game. Nothing to harm you."

"Do you believe that?" Amy looked him and took his hand. When she did, she realised something that should've been obvious to her from the start. The Doctor looked at her again.

"What?" he asked. The voice sounded innocent but it wasn't his voice, not unless it had been heavily synthesised in the past few hours.

"Where did you say Rory was again?"

"I sent him back home," the Doctor wasn't looking at her but at the hopscotch on the ground. "It's safe. Nothing's coming up from the sonic screwdriver."

Amy looked at the sonic screwdriver. It was exactly like the one that had blown up in his hands on the day her and Rory had helped him against the Face Tendril.

"Good," Amy said. "He'd only get in the way. Besides, he can look after Uncle Albert. You remember Uncle Albert, don't you?"

"Yes," the Doctor smiled as he extended his hand again to her. "Good old Uncle Albert. We took him to Woman Wept the other week."

"He was a bit shocked that it lived up to it's name," Amy agreed. "Except ..."

" ... What?"

"I don't have an Uncle Albert," Amy said, her arms folded and her face darkened with annoyance. "You know that, Doctor."

"Does it matter?" the Doctor had an exasperated look on his face. "Look, Amy we don't have a lot of time to go into your family tree. Right now we need to get across that hopscotch on the floor and into the next room, so kindly get a move on."

His eyes blinkered, urging her to move along but Amy stopped in her tracks, refusing to budge for him.

"You first," Amy said simply. "If this is safe, then I'll be behind you."

"Don't be ridiculous, Amy," the Doctor began to tug at her arm, trying to drag her into the hopscotch. "You're perfectly safe, there's nothing to worry about."

"Get off me," Amy managed to pull away from him before sending him crashing to the floor. When she did, his face hit the floor first and she noticed something that confirmed her suspicions.

A small part of the Doctor's skin from his forehead had torn off from the violent push that Amy had given him. Instead of blood, Amy saw wires and chunks of metal. The robot looked at her confused.

"How long have you known?" it asked her. When it rose to it's feet, it grabbed Amy by the arms and stared deep into her eyes.

"Where's the Doctor?" Amy asked, struggling to break free from the robot's grip.

"Not worried about your precious Rory then?" the robot glared at her with contempt. Amy kicked at him but it made no difference to her. "Your head's full of that Doctor. He's a dangerous influence on you, Miss Pond."

"Let me go," Amy managed to free one of her arms from the robot's grip but he still held onto the other one tightly.

"My master said you were strong," the robot sneered at her. "But even he didn't think you'd be wise enough to realise that I wasn't him."

"I'm not just a pretty face," Amy smirked as she tried to kick the robot. This time, he dodged her blow and slung her through the wall, which she slipped through.

"I'll be sure to let him know."

The robot smirked as she disappeared and then screamed in agony before exploding all over the room. When the dust settled and there was nothing more than scrap on the ground, the Toymaker appeared in its wake.

"Isn't she just?"

He was impressed with these humans. Their belief and knowledge of the Doctor was certainly most endearing. He would have fun with the next challenge that he would make them both face.

Amy had been sent crashing into a room with Rory being the one to grab her. Both of them gave the other a look of relief.

"I'm so glad to see you," Amy hugged Rory before touching his face and looking into his eyes. "It's really you."

"Of course it's me," Rory was caught off guard. "What happened to you? Where's the Doctor?"

"I thought he was with you," Amy released herself from Rory and looked around. "If we're here, then where is he?"

"I can answer that for you, child," the Toymaker appeared from nowhere, startling them. Both Amy and Rory stepped back.

"It's you again," Rory looked at the strangely dressed man. "Where are we?"

"You're on my world," the Toymaker said calmly.

"And the Doctor?" Amy demanded.

"Oh he'll be delighted to see you two," the Toymaker sneered. "His faithful companions. Come with me."

The Toymaker didn't give them time to answer. He opened a door from the dark room they had been trapped in and walked out, knowing that both of them in their desperation to be reunited with the Doctor would follow him. He would make sure that their dedication to that man would also keep both the Doctor and them bound to his world forever.

As soon as Amy and Rory had stepped out the door, the first thing they could see was the TARDIS but neither one of them could move towards it.

"What the hell is going on?" Rory couldn't get his legs to move and looked at the Toymaker in anger. "Why are you doing this?"

"Who are you?" Amy asked, equally annoyed with her inability to move.

"I am the Toymaker, Miss Pond," the Toymaker sneered at both companions. "And you two are a test."

"What do you mean?" Amy raised her eyebrow. "What sort of test?"

"Both you and the young man have shown great devotion to the Doctor," the Toymaker was beginning to fade out of sight. "But will he do the same for you?"

All Amy and Rory could do was look on as the man disappeared, unable to move and finding that shouting in the lightened room was proving ineffectual. Both of them gave each other a look hoping that the Doctor would be able to figure a way to get them out of the Toymaker's clutches.

The Doctor was still bound and gagged and watched by the toy soldier by the time the Toymaker had reappeared in the controls room. The Doctor's mood hadn't improved since then either.

"You've been quiet for long enough," the Toymaker frowned as he ripped the tape off the Doctor's mouth and turned to the toy soldier. "Cut his bonds."

The Doctor was free from his restraints and rubbed his wrists. He gave the Toymaker a long and cold stare.

"Where are they?"

"Look," the Toymaker showed him a monitor showing both Amy and Rory rendered still near the TARDIS. "It's a bit like last time, Doctor. Only you'll be taking on the role of Steven and Dodo."

"I'm too old for hopscotch," the Doctor looked at him with distrust in his eyes. "And you wouldn't make things that easy. Unless ..."

"I like this world, Doctor," the Toymaker snapped. "And given your previous form, I don't intend for it to be destroyed. You and your companions will become my possessions, one way or the other. I wouldn't underestimate the game that lies ahead of you."

The Doctor said nothing more and ran out of the Toymaker's control room. Once he did, he could see that there were dozens of corridors ahead of him.

"Of course he wouldn't make it that easy," the Doctor muttered ruefully before he spotted a rotund man standing in front of him. "Impossible."

"Not quite, Doctor," the surly man looked at the Doctor, extending his hand to shake. "I'd say you were more of an impossibility here."

"But you're dead," the Doctor said, taking in the man and reluctantly shaking his hand. Then he realised. "Of course."

"The Toymaker had such affection for my competitive streak," Cyril looked at the Time Lord, amazed at how young he looked. "That he made this form for me. Now I get to compete in all the games and even if I lose, I don't die."

"So, I take it you're my obstacle then?"

"You would assume correctly," Cyril said, before producing a silk red scarf from his pockets. "For you."

"You have got to be kidding me," the Doctor eyed the scarf with suspicion. "Am I supposed to do this with my hands tied behind my back?"

"Don't be absurd, Time Lord," Cyril snatched the scarf and went behind the Doctor and bound the scarf tightly around his eyes, blindfolding him. "It's a test. Call it blind faith."

"It's ridiculous," the Doctor said. "How do I know you won't push me down a bottomless pit?"

"Tempting as that is, Doctor," the robotic form of Cyril sneered. "The Toymaker very much wants you alive and to see you fail your companions. You will fail them this time, Doctor."

"We'll see about that," the Doctor grumbled as Cyril took a firm grip of his arm and dragged him down the third corridor.

Amy and Rory glimpsed as the Toymaker reappeared. He put a finger to his lips and both Amy and Rory had an urge to scream, only to find that they couldn't.

"Don't want him distracted," the Toymaker smiled, positioning himself in between both companions. "You'll have plenty of time to talk when he fails you both."

Amy and Rory both gave the Toymaker a contemptuous glare before looking to see an overweight man drag the Doctor into the room.

"Amy? Rory?" the Doctor yelled for them.

Both Amy and Rory tried yelling back to no avail. They were completely immobile and mute.

"They're here, Doctor," the Toymaker called out. "Right beside me actually."

"I want to hear them speak," the Doctor demanded, unable to break from Cyril's vice like grip on his arm.

"There'll be plenty of time for that later," the Toymaker moved away from the humans and stood beside the TARDIS. "Once you've passed this final test. Assuming your inability to see doesn't completely derail you."

"Blind faith," the Doctor muttered. "It's not your usual style, is it?"

"One thing that's been constant with you, Doctor," the Toymaker ignored the remark. "Has been your travelling companions. They seem to change even more than you do physically. If Amy and Rory have made any impact on you, then you'll pass the test with flying colours. If not, the three of you will have more than an eternity to really get to know each other."

"It's not them you want," the Doctor said as Cyril released him. The Doctor undid the blindfold and threw it on the ground. "It's me."

"That's not part of the rules, Doctor," the Toymaker pointed at the scarf on the floor. "Blindfold goes back on."

"No, it doesn't," the Doctor grabbed it before the Toymaker could will it around his eyes again. He then gave Amy and Rory a nod before staring at the Toymaker. "Release them."

Amy and Rory dropped to the floor before turning around to see the Toymaker glaring at them in shock.

"I can talk again," Rory said as he picked Amy to her feet.

"Doctor?" Amy looked at him. The look in his eyes worried her. He was angry and she knew the Doctor could be very unpredictable when he was angry.

"Into the TARDIS," the Doctor ordered her. Amy looked aghast but realised that it was best not arguing with him. "We're leaving."

"I don't think so, Doctor," the Toymaker waved at the TARDIS just as Amy and Rory stepped inside, locking themselves inside the ship. "This game isn't over yet. Your TARDIS is immobile. Bound to this world, like you and your companions."

"Remember the last time you tried that tactic what happened?" the Doctor asked the Toymaker. "I beat you."

"I also remember telling you that I was a bad loser, Doctor," the Toymaker stood in front of the TARDIS. "That I destroyed the destroyer of my world. Play the game or else I will dispatch of your companions and your ship."

"Fine," the Doctor muttered in resignation. He was blindfolded again by the Toymaker's will. "Roll the dice."

Cyril looked at the Toymaker before looking at the Doctor and then rolled the dice.

"Three places," Cyril smirked as the blindfolded Doctor began to move towards his steps. "Need any help?"

"Perfectly fine on my own, thank you," the Doctor ignored the glib remark and deftly timed his landing on each step.

"You're never alone, Doctor," the Toymaker remarked. "Not with your humans and your TARDIS. Again."

The last remark was directed at Cyril. Cyril began to roll the dice again. The Doctor had been forced to go back to the start, then had missed a turn, despite him being the only one playing and then managed to get to three steps again. The Toymaker looked at the robot, imploring it to slip up and send the Doctor into the wrong direction but Cyril shrieked in pain and rolled a perfect six.

"That's only three to go," the Doctor smirked.

"You haven't won yet," the Toymaker reminded him as he looked at Cyril. "Roll again."

Inside the TARDIS, both Amy and Rory could see and hear everything from the monitor. Rory spotted the way the Toymaker was looking at the robotic Cyril as well as the Doctor.

"He's gonna lose," Rory looked out from the monitor. "We have to do something."

"If we step outside, the Toymaker will use us as collateral," Amy said before looking at the controls. "But maybe there's something we can do without leaving."

"Such as?" Rory asked her as he noticed a glint in her eye. "Don't keep us in suspense."

"Did you notice the way the Doctor spoke to us?"

"He was pretty annoyed when he told us to go into the TARDIS," Rory looked at her. "But I just assumed that had more to do with keeping us safe than anything else."

"I meant when he freed us," Amy said. "He sounded exactly like the Toymaker."

"So he did," Rory's eyes lit up. "Now I know where this is going."

The Doctor had tried to employ the tactic of using the Toymaker's voice again to advance himself in the game but the Toymaker had caught on and rendered him silent again by forcing another strip of tape across his mouth as a gag. Even Amy and Rory were unable to use the same tactic when the Toymaker had soundproofed the TARDIS with his own will alone.

"I don't appreciate cheating," the Toymaker smirked. "And you were doing so well. Now that you can see your TARDIS, can you get to it?"

The Doctor had torn off the blindfold but the tape wouldn't budge. He looked as the robotic Cyril managed to roll another perfect three. The Doctor smiled in victory and headed across the steps where the only thing that now stood between his companions and TARDIS was the Toymaker. The tape disappeared from his mouth.

"Deals a deal," the Doctor said. Before the Toymaker could say anything else, the Doctor pointed his sonic screwdriver at him. "Out of the way."

"Is that the best you can do?" the Toymaker looked unimpressed. "You may have won, Doctor but I can still hold you to this world. My will is far greater than yours."

"About that," the Doctor looked around and noticed that along with Cyril, there were a few of the toy soldiers lying about. "I think you might have a problem."

"Nothing can destroy me," the Toymaker snarled at the Doctor in annoyance. "You're even more arrogant as a youngster than that dithering old man I encountered all those years ago."

"No, but I bet there's something that can distract you long enough," the Doctor pointed his sonic screwdriver at the soldiers who began to advance towards the Toymaker. "I'll not be the cause of this world to end but I am leaving, whether you like it or not."

"You can't," the Toymaker shrieked as he was pushed out of the way by the Doctor who slammed the TARDIS door shut upon entering the ship.

"How long have we got?" Amy asked as the Doctor sandwiched himself between her and Rory and set off the dematerialisation button.

"Long enough."

"And the Toymaker?" Rory asked. "You lied to him, didn't you?"

"I didn't have a choice," the Doctor looked at the young man with concern. "It's the price that he's forced to pay when he loses. The Toymaker's immortal but the worlds that he create don't have the same luxury."

"So he's still out there," Amy asked. "What's to stop him from going after us again?"

"Nothing," the Doctor looked at her truthfully. "But right now he'll be too busy trying to build up a new world to think about us."

"Here's hoping," Rory muttered before looking at the monitor. "Oh God."

Amy and the Doctor took a long look for themselves at the monitor. The world that they had abandoned had now collapsed, exploding throughout the universe into an assortment of debris. Amy couldn't imagine anything, even someone as indestructible as the Toymaker being able to survive that but from the look on the Doctor's face, it was clear that the Toymaker somehow did.

"Are you alright?" Amy looked at the Doctor, whose eyes were fixed on the monitor.

"Better with you two," the Doctor said before letting out a sigh of relief. "Always better."

- The End -


End file.
